Covenant Presbyterian Church

"The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord" (Matt. 10:24). Time has not diminished the force of our Savior’s compelling call to discipleship. His words are simple and direct. We shall not rise higher than him. Our service will be like his. His directives, which were given to the original band of disciples, are hardly what we would call motivational or heart warming.

In the preceding verses Jesus spoke of their mission as "sending sheep into the midst of wolves," of "being delivered up," of being betrayed even by their families, and of being hated by all men. After verse 24 he speaks of the evil things men will say about them by posing this question: "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, i.e., Satan, how much more those of his household?" He speaks of their deaths as likely and of abandoning even their families for the sake of the gospel. He mentions cross bearing; the one who gains his life in this world will lose it, and the one who denies him before men will be denied before the Father. All things considered, even taking into consideration the highly-charged, first-century context of dedicated Jewish opposition to the gospel and the unique aspects of this first foray of the gospel, the consequences of discipleship are enough to make one hesitate. What is this commitment to which we have been called? Must I really give up everything to be Christ’s disciple? Perhaps Jesus is speaking in hyperbole, dramatizing the situation into something much worse than it really is. Is it not possible to be a disciple and to remain on relatively friendly terms with the world? The answer is no.

It is a temptation for us to dismiss Matthew 10. Most of us in the west are rarely called upon to give up anything for the sake of Christ, much less to lose income, social standing, or family relations because we profess to be Christ’s disciples. The domestication of the gospel has made it relatively easy for us to blend in, lose our discipleship edge, and fit Jesus into the other things we do. Some of us probably have a secret fear that the sort of discipleship of which Jesus spoke will one day become our cross to bear. Our homes are comfortable, with our children around us, a steady income, and respectability galore - provided, of course, we do not push too much, that we continue to place Jesus into the smooth flowing stream of pluralistic life and resist the temptation to make too many religious ripples.

Into the midst of our existence, our Savior says that the disciple is not above his master. How he was treated, we can expect to be treated. His life of suffering will in some measure be "filled up" by the sufferings of his people (Col. 1:24). It is true that certain periods of human history manifest a greater influence of the gospel. Even if men are not personally committed to the Savior they see value in his moral system and like to speak of love. In such times Christians are not usually persecuted and are allowed to worship and proselytize with minimal interference. We are coming out of such times, and it is a good thing. For too long most of the church has been contented to remain within its culturally permitted limits. We have grown lazy and self-satisfied, thinking that the so-called golden age of American Christianity will continue indefinitely. We have compromised with political parties, giving them our vote in place of assurances that our major social issues will receive proper attention. They have not. We have been invited to join the world of pluralism, of polite religious discourse, of consumerized Christianity. We have. And now things have gotten out of hand.

There is a way back, but it will not be easy. If you want an easy path, the shelves at the local Christian bookstore are filled with treatises promising "the perfect solution," how to solve this and that, how to find your Jesus happy-place. But to the degree that Jesus’ life is the pattern for his disciples, these volumes are illusory, downright deceptive, and contribute to the status quo: lazy believers looking for simple answers and a comfortable faith that allows them to live as they please without a guilty conscience or the loss of the world’s respect.

Christian discipleship, however, is different. Consider, for example, the claim that Jesus sends his people as sheep into the midst of wolves. Already we encounter a problem. Every bit of American socialization and education is designed to eliminate differences between people in order to maintain the façade of essential homogeneity. Everyone is on the same level; no moral or religious system has any higher claim to truth and authority than "non-religious" systems. But Jesus, sweet, loving Jesus, declares that there are "sheep" and there are "wolves." The latter are especially civil and religious leaders that reject the gospel of Jesus Christ and persecute its followers. They deny the authority of the Bible, endorse moral anarchy, and subvert the foundations of social order by rebelling against God’s law. By calling us sheep he is not picturing our innocence but highlighting our weakness. From the world’s perspective, we are unprotected, rather stupid, and easily scattered. Sheep pose no threat to wolves. But the Christian disciple must continually look higher, to the protection promised by the Great Shepherd. He must not allow the fangs of the wicked to turn him into a coward. He has a message to proclaim, a life of love to lead, and a defense of the faith to give. He must deliver that message, lead that life, and boldly give that defense regardless of the ferocious opposition of the wicked. He, like his Master and Teacher, must not tuck tail and run. He cannot be self-contented in his own spiritual attainments, his knowledge, the safe shelter of personal spirituality. God has called him to speak the truth in a world of howling wolves.

The plain facts, however, are these. We have grown cowardly. The snarling of secularists, the tyranny of positivist judges, the ridicule of academia, and liberalizing forces even within the fold have encouraged synthesis and compromise. O, we love the occasional blustering of the pulpit, but the message rarely makes it beyond the walls of the church. We have gotten to the point where there are not any walls left; it looks pretty much the same inside the church as outside. We have reduced the Christian message to a few moralisms, a Santa Claus God, and principles for personal improvement. This is joining the wolves. Jesus calls us to proclaim a different message, to confront men with his claims, to expose human sin and inability, to call upon sinners to repent and to be born again. The real gospel will never be popular among wolves, but it is the power of God unto salvation, and as the church is the pillar and ground of the truth, we must brave the assaults, the ridicule, and the threats of evil men. This is the path of discipleship, to enter like our Savior the very citadels of Satan and speak the truth of God, lovingly, humbly, without compromise, to present a message of saving, sovereign grace that moves beyond the continuous bombardment of complaints against the wicked to a positive call to embrace the salvation freely offered in the gospel.

Jesus also describes discipleship as cross bearing. To bear his cross is far more than bearing sickness patiently, or dealing with a contrary boss, or braving the morning traffic. His cross is particularly the hostility and opposition of the world that are encountered as we endeavor to live for him and proclaim his truth. We tend to equate the thorns and thistles of living in this fallen world with cross bearing. This is another way we have blunted Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 10. We must remember that even the wicked must deal with the curse; sickness, vocational difficulties, and other common problems, therefore, cannot be considered cross bearing. To bear the cross is to endure the reproach of friends and family when we seek to stand for the Savior. To bear the cross is to love our enemies, do good to those that hate us, and to pray for those that treat us badly. Bearing the cross is specifically the gospel centered and Christ focused bearing of the same shame our Savior carried because "a zeal for his Father’s house consumed him."

We have practically inoculated ourselves against cross bearing. For example, receiving the ridicule and hatred of the world for standing against homosexuality or abortion for generally moral reasons, or because these things are gross and gruesome, is not necessarily cross bearing. One can find unbelievers, past and present, who have similarly opposed them. But when we speak against them because of our love for the Savior, by proclaiming that these things are completely opposed to his Lordship and Word, when our ethical and theological stands are Christ-centered, then it can be said that we are bearing his cross. Jesus Christ must be brought into the discussion, for we are not seeking merely a return to moral goodness but a total renovation of life in terms of the only God and Savior, who rules over all and commands all men everywhere to repent. Such stands, whether privately among family and friends or publicly in the arena of national discourse, must be made in terms of our Savior and his Word. If they are not, we cannot expect his power and blessing for we are not confessing his name before men. Hence, I do not want to hear of an ostensibly Christian politician, or preacher, or historian defending Christianity without Christ, upon general moral principles, or out of love for a certain tradition. The Savior must be unashamedly confessed, or we are shunning his cross in favor of the path of respectability. It is the name and gospel of Jesus that divides, confronts, and restores. It is bearing his cross and confessing his name that marks true discipleship.

I urge careful study of Matthew 10. Some of its directives are undoubtedly first-century specific, but the general principles of Christian discipleship are universal, character traits that the Holy Spirit produces in all those who are truly united to Jesus Christ in a living union of faith. It is this sort of discipleship and only this sort that will make a difference: when serving and speaking of Jesus Christ are our daily practice and joy, when we are not cowed by wolves or embarrassed by the name of Jesus, when others do not see us defending a specific political agenda or general moral principles but the name and gospel of the Son of God. This is the discipleship that will be crowned with the laurel of victory at the end of our course. Remember our Lord’s encouragement to forsake everything for him. He who loses his life for the sake of Jesus will find it. The believer who confesses Christ before men will have the unspeakable privilege of hearing Jesus confess him before the Father, as one of his own, as a true disciple. Let us, therefore, stop trying to be above our Lord and embarrassed by our Teacher. This is the hour for the disciples of Jesus Christ to hazard all for his kingdom and gospel, for his glory and honor, for his wondrous gospel of saving power and grace. His humble, sacrificing, and joyful disciples will march in the train of his victory and strength. They will overcome the world, and in the process, save it.

How we need Christian disciples, humble believers who boldly confess Christ at every opportunity, do not seek consensus with the world, and joyfully see themselves as marching in the train of their greater Lord and wiser Master! Our nation looks as it does not so much because the "bad guys" are in power, or because non-elected bureaucrats are given free reign to promote their agendas against the Constitutional process of law, or because the United States government and military have become little more than promoters of capitalistic covetousness. These things are true at many levels, but the real problem is the lack of Christian disciples. For every liberal politician and social demagogue trumpeting homosexual marriage, universal abortion, tolerance of idolatry, and distribution of birth control in government schools, there is a believer that has forgotten what it means to be a disciple. We get caught up in the hubris, thinking we must play the game, seize the power, and have our day in the political sun, all the while seeking to promote Christ’s agenda through harmless, bland, impotent moralizing. No. We need disciples who love the Master, sow the omnipotent seed of his word, and confess his name publicly at every opportunity. But this, you say, will mean we will lose elections, be ridiculed, and face possible persecution. So did our Master. And he won. The world has won because he lost in the eyes of the world. Every bit of liberty, purity, and hope in the world today is because he laid down his life. We cannot do less.